I'm coming up on 50K in my 2021 Ascent, and had almost 40K on the 2019 I traded in on it and have had exactly 0 alignments done over the past 6 years.

Tire wear has been pretty even across 3-ish sets of tires (OEMs for ~20K on the 2019, then a set of lightly used Conti Viking Contacts for about 8K miles, followed by nearly 50K on a set of Wildpeak AT Trails that I only took off to put a new set of Michelin X-Ices on about 2K miles ago since I've recently moved to an area with a lot of ice and snow in the winter and I spend more time up in the mountains now).

I will say that I bought a set of 18" OEM take offs on FB Marketplace that I used to mount my new snow tires on that had the OEM Falkens still on them that had crazy uneven wear on 3 of the 4 tires. I have no idea of the provenance of the wheels (the seller was one of those guys who goes around and buys a lot of used wheels and tires and resells them on FB) but whatever Ascent they came off of was in desperate need of an alignment.

 

I'm coming up on 50K in my 2021 Ascent, and had almost 40K on the 2019 I traded in on it and have had exactly 0 alignments done over the past 6 years.

Tire wear has been pretty even across 3-ish sets of tires (OEMs for ~20K on the 2019, then a set of lightly used Conti Viking Contacts for about 8K miles, followed by nearly 50K on a set of Wildpeak AT Trails that I only took off to put a new set of Michelin X-Ices on about 2K miles ago since I've recently moved to an area with a lot of ice and snow in the winter and I spend more time up in the mountains now).

I will say that I bought a set of 18" OEM take offs on FB Marketplace that I used to mount my new snow tires on that had the OEM Falkens still on them that had crazy uneven wear on 3 of the 4 tires. I have no idea of the provenance of the wheels (the seller was one of those guys who goes around and buys a lot of used wheels and tires and resells them on FB) but whatever Ascent they came off of was in desperate need of an alignment.

Same here. I monitor my tires closely. I also keep my tires at +2 psi. Rotate every oil change.
2021 with 55,000 miles.

 

2020 and 2023. First one was warranty work. The second I paid for. Alignment is checked for all cars that come into the shop. The roads are bad where I live. When we had two Subarus i felt like every time I went to the shop I was getting an alignment done. I guess it isn’t too bad. Our Pilot, the shop recommends once a year. I’m used to looking at the wear of tires and/or a wiggle or pulling in the steering wheel, I’ve had a few cars that never needed an alignment.

 

I have to admit that I do frequent alignments and find my 2022 Ascent somewhat susceptible to misalignment, especially after hitting a decent sized pothole and such. If I accidentally go over a curb at 5-10mph while turning in a parking lot for example or if I hit a pothole that makes a decently loud noise, then I just get the alignment done.

For whatever reason, roads today seem to be pothole prone and it doesn't help that Ascent is a heavy vehicle and it's not uncommon for owners to experience front strut issues.

I'm seriously mulling over changing out the factory struts with aftermarket struts, in hopes that the aftermarket struts will perform better and last longer than the factory struts, which have been noticeably problematic for some.

 

Believe it or not one of the dealers I was considering buying from when looking for a 2024 Subaru Ascent wanted to charge an extra $1000. When I asked why they told me that part of the cost was to complete an alignment service which they perform on every brand new car they sell because apparently a lot of Subaru vehicles come out of the factory out of spec. Needless to say, I didn’t buy from that dealer but I have heard of there being issues with Subaru alignment.

We have just under 22,000 miles on ours and so far tire wear is normal and we’ve never had an alignment completed. My local dealer does have the Hunter system that checks alignment when you drive into the service bay and so far they have not noted any problems.

 

WRT frequency of alignments, consider the rotating mass of the wheels. With 18 or 20 inch wheels the forces needing to be controlled are higher than when wheels were smaller.

Regarding the Hunter system, I'm not sure that it checks toe. In my 2020,I requested an alignment check at about 5k miles because the car was wandering badly. Rear toe was out but the Hunter system didn't alert.

 

My 2019 Ascent has never gotten any alignment. My mileage is mostly city miles over bad potholes and speed bumps galore. She has always tracked straight even on crowned roads.

Worn suspension components can contribute to unusual tire wear.

 

I never needed an alignment aside from when suspension and steering components were replaced.

 

I had tire wearing issues and wandering right out of the shute. Brand new off the lot on 20 Imited. Had them align the car and set everything camber and toe front and rear to s

 

Within 3 mos of owning my new 20 Limited I noticed tire scuffing on the inside of the front tires. Early on in my career I did front end alignments so it was obvious to me it was either negative camber or toed out. It also wandered and took small corrections to the wheel all the time to keep it straight. I took it to the dealership who took it to the local tire shop. I told them I would like camber and toe, front and rear set as close to zero as possible, which they did. The alignment man told me the rest was tied out and the front had lots of negative camber, which in theory can make the car handle better in the corners. From what I have read this could be true. I felt like the Ascent handled well but I drive it slowly through corners so losing a little did not matter to me. He told me the tires should wear well now and the wandering should be less noticeable. He was right. I did not notice any difference in handling and the car drove fantastic. My first set of Falkens went 43k, I think they would have done a little better if they weren't worn initially. I feel these settings are excellent for smooth operation and good tire wear.

So to answer your question, it sounds like your problem is close to what I was experiencing with my tire wear. Do you have a copy of the before and after alignment specs? Look at it and see how the camber and toe are set. As close to zero on both should get you good tire wear. After that, keep watching your tires for unusual wear, keep them inflated and rotated. If you are seeing wear or having driveability issues with wandering or pulling, get it in and have it checked! Beats losing a set of tires or wearing you out trying to keep the car straight in the lane. I hope you get it resolved soon. Nick

 

I'm also in the no alignment camp with our Ascent, currently at 45K miles. Our Outback needed an alignment because of tire wear, problem was the rear toe. After that it's never been aligned again, currently at 108K miles. We take both cars off road, but have never hit anything that would knock the alignment out. As @Scooter56 and others said, if it drives straight, the tire wear is even, and you haven't hit anything then don't mess with success.

 

I’m curious how often others find themselves needing wheel alignments. I’ve had to get mine done at 6,000 miles and again at 15,000 miles. First one was free and this 2nd one I paid for. For context, I mostly drive on highways and never on unpaved roads. My tires are rotated regularly (3 oil changes/tire rotations so far) and the car has been in for service 6 times for other issues with a multi point each time over the last 6 months.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of frequency? Front tires have wear on the inside at 15k miles.

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I’m curious how often others find themselves needing wheel alignments. I’ve had to get mine done at 6,000 miles and again at 15,000 miles. First one was free and this 2nd one I paid for. For context, I mostly drive on highways and never on unpaved roads. My tires are rotated regularly (3 oil changes/tire rotations so far) and the car has been in for service 6 times for other issues with a multi point each time over the last 6 months.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of frequency? Front tires have wear on the inside at 15k miles.

View attachment 26419

I’m curious how often others find themselves needing wheel alignments. I’ve had to get mine done at 6,000 miles and again at 15,000 miles. First one was free and this 2nd one I paid for. For context, I mostly drive on highways and never on unpaved roads. My tires are rotated regularly (3 oil changes/tire rotations so far) and the car has been in for service 6 times for other issues with a multi point each time over the last 6 months.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of frequency? Front tires have wear on the inside at 15k miles.

View attachment 26419

definitely is a manufacturer defect after buying my second Subaru touring. I noticed the same wear on inside the tires and I also noticed the struts are gone after 28,000 miles. It’s not a coincidence if you look around an ask you will find this is a issue with pretty much all of them,
The reason has to do with money no one else sells those struts only Subaru there’s no third-party company anyone in the US or in the world that does the struts for the Ancent, a lot of owners have to buy directly from them and get service from them.